Erin Clemence's Reviews > Their Monstrous Hearts

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

Expected publication date: Apr. 8, 2025

Turkish writer Yiğit Turhan has created a novel with a terrifying cover and a spooky premise- but that’s about it. The writing in “Their Monstrous Hearts: A Gothic Horror Novel with a Dual Timeline and a Suspenseful Mystery” is chunky and the storyline itself is disjointed. I felt no connection to the characters but kept persevering all the same, as I wanted to see if the ending would provide the entertainment I was looking for (it didn’t).

Riccardo is a struggling writer, about to be evicted from his apartment, when a random stranger shows up and informs him that his estranged grandmother has left him her estate in Italy. When Riccardo arrives, the villa is far more rundown than he expected and so many strange things start happening that Riccardo starts to wonder if the trip, and the villa itself, is worth it. When Riccardo discovers his grandmother’s journal, his curiousity is piqued enough that he sticks around, grateful to understand a little bit more about the woman he once knew. It isn’t long before Riccardo uncovers the dangerous secrets his grandma, and her home, hold and Riccardo is soon desperate to leave however the house, the town and the residents, are not going to let Riccardo leave- alive.

“Hearts” is told from Riccardo’s perspective, interspersed with portions of his grandmother’s journal. Some chapters are very long, others are short but overall, it is a dual timeline, single protagonist horror story.

Initially, I wondered if “Hearts” was written in another language and translated (badly) into English, but it does not seem to be the case. I struggled with Turhan’s writing style and language use and I cannot determine if that is due to the language barrier or to the fact that “Hearts” is only Turhan’s second novel. Some editorial polishing may have made a world of difference for “Hearts”, and I was quite surprised that it was carried by a rather well-known publishing house.

The story had multiple plotlines, any of them could’ve carried an entire novel on their own, but together, the structure was disorganized. There was little character development and, although the setting was creepy and the “monster” in the story had huge potential, I was too confused by the overall story to enjoy the scary parts as much as I was expecting to.

I went into “Hearts” with no expectations, as I was not familiar with Turhan or his writing, but I still managed to be disappointed.